Albert's Thanksgiving

Albert #4

by Leslie Tryon (Illustrator)

It's time for the great Thanksgiving feast in Pleasant Valley, and there's so much to be done! There are hats and Indian headbands to be made, as well as decorations of dried cornstalks and bright-colored leaves. But who will make the new harvest table and the cross-legged turkeys? And what about the vegetables? These must be harvested if there's going to be a feast, but everyone has forgotten about them! Luckily, Albert the duck hasn't forgotten. He'll make sure this is the best Thanksgiving feast since 1621!

Genres: Thanksgiving, Picture Books, Holiday, Childrens, Animals

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1994

Reviews

[Kris Dersch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Today was not my day for picture books.
So if you can get past the idea that these kids are celebrating Thanksgiving at school rather than with their families for some reason you get to poor Albert who is just trying to harvest the veggies and make...you know...the feast Thanksgiving is supposed to be about. But the INCREDIBLY ANNOYING PTA chair keeps sending him little notes asking him to do "one more thing." Like, you know, BUILD A FREAKING TABLE. Which he does. Because he is nice. Albert is basically every mom I know before a major holiday, especially mine.
He does eventually put a stop to this by basically saying, I did all your crap and now I need to do this, so there is KINDA a resolution, but the book ends with one more note from the PTA chair so you know this noise continues. I mean, I don't need "lesson is here" picture books the time, but really...DO WE LEARN NOTHING?????

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little book that details Albert's involvement in getting Thanksgiving prepared through letters written by Peppa Pig. I liked the different tasks that Albert was asked to do, along with the detailed letters that were written in perfect penmanship. The illustrations were also cute as well; Albert is a very handy duck!

[Brandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Culturally inaccurate for our times, simply outdated. I liked that it incorporated letter-writing but no lessons came from them really. Would only use for social-emotional questioning regarding being taken advantage of, but the oversimplification and inappropriateness of the pilgrims and indigenous people through the American myth of Thanksgiving leaves the book with absolutely no relevance.

[Marla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor Albert - His friends are taking such advantage of him! This book kind of bummed me out.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cute Thanksgiving book about a goose that is overworked for Thanksgiving. This would be great in teaching kids how to write letters.

[Meaghan Milner Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

We liked it alot, especially when all the animals came together for a Thanksgiving feast. It was pretty hard for Albert to do it all on his own but he did a great job.

[Marla at the Library · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor Albert - His friends are taking such advantage of him! This book kind of bummed me out.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting perspective of the "maintenance duck" at school. Very good to talk about thanking the behind the scenes people.

[Terry]

The story moves along easily and the illustrations are chock full of details and activities that engage young (and older) readers. It even has the recipe for Albert's famous pumpkin pizza dessert! This is a fun story for kids and parents alike…although parents are more likely to relate to the flurry of activity and chuckle at the PTA president's leadership style.

To read our full review (complete with the kids' opinions!) go to The Reading Tub®.

[Bonnie Chang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Albert's Thanksgiving is a wonderful way to bring in a different writing style into the classroom. This book is a collection of letters between two characters as they get ready for the big celebration. Children get to see how letters begin with an introduction, body and an ending. Also, this book is a wonderful tool for sequencing. Kids will have a blast naming the order of the tasks Albert needs to complete before the guests arrive!

[Tuyet Tran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanksgiving is a holiday to collect crops. There are so many things to prepare for the Thanksgiving party, but the most important thing is forgetted by others. Read this story and have the students create a job that they can help out in the classroom. Also, ask the students what are their jobs during Thanksgiving.

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This falls flat. The PTA President gives Albert a bunch of assignments which keeps him from his original job, harvesting the vegetables. In the end they all pitch in and help him. Not compelling.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came out for the holidays, but the boys never let me pack it back up. Tommy especially pulls it out all year round.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

My kids loved this and it'd be great with a letter writing unit, but I was eh about it.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Love the overworked Albert.

[亮 刘]

nice book